plough
verb/plaʊ/
/plaʊ/
(British English) (North American English plow)
[transitive, intransitive]Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they plough | /plaʊ/ /plaʊ/ |
| he / she / it ploughs | /plaʊz/ /plaʊz/ |
| past simple ploughed | /plaʊd/ /plaʊd/ |
| past participle ploughed | /plaʊd/ /plaʊd/ |
| -ing form ploughing | /ˈplaʊɪŋ/ /ˈplaʊɪŋ/ |
- plough (something) to dig and turn over a field or other area of land with a plough
- ploughed fields
Collocations FarmingFarmingGrowing food and raising animalsTopics Farmingc2- plant trees/seeds/crops/vines/barley
- grow/produce corn/wheat/rice/fruit
- plough/(North American English) plow land/a field
- sow/harvest seeds/crops/fields
- spread manure/fertilizer on something
- cultivate/irrigate/water/contaminate crops/plants/fields/land
- damage/destroy/lose your crop
- ripen/pick fruit/berries/grapes
- press/dry/ferment grapes
- grind/thresh grain/corn/wheat
- raise/rear/keep chickens/poultry/cattle/pigs
- raise/breed/feed/graze livestock/cattle/sheep
- kill/slaughter livestock
- preserve/smoke/cure/salt meat
- run a fish farm/an organic dairy farm
- engage in/be involved in intensive (pig/fish) farming
- use/apply (chemical/organic) fertilizer/insecticides/pesticides
- begin/do/conduct field trials of GM (= genetically modified) crops
- grow/develop GM crops/seeds/plants/foods
- fund/invest in genetic engineering/research
- improve/increase crop yields
- face/suffer from/alleviate food shortages
- label food that contains GMOs (= genetically modified organisms)
- eliminate/reduce farm subsidies
- oppose/be against factory farming/GM food
- promote/encourage/support organic/sustainable farming
Word Originlate Old English plōh, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch ploeg and German Pflug. The spelling plough became common in England in the 18th cent.; earlier (16th–17th cents) the noun was normally spelled plough, the verb plow.Want to learn more?
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Idioms
plough a lonely, your own, etc., furrow
- (literary) to do things that other people do not do, or be interested in things that other people are not interested in
Check pronunciation:
plough